Seed life in the fridge?

VILEPLUME

VILEPLUME

Well-Known Member
How long would you say seeds are good for when kept in the fridge?

I've been using some now that are 3-4 years old and the young plants look weak. I've been using the same bottles of nutrients for 4 years now too(don't grow that often), could that also play a factor?

Thanks for your help.
 
TheChemist77

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
i keep hundreds of seeds in the fridge, all in sealed air tight packs with silica for humidity control.. most seeds are between 3 years old to just recently purchased,, i was told storing seeds this way will keep germ rates high for 5 years then slowly decline..however id like to know more as ive had germ problems as of late and i cant figure out why..

so please,,how long will seeds stay viable in the fridge?? why am i having low germ rates in just 3 years after doing all i can to package seeds correctly and store in fridge?? i have thousands of dollars of seeds at stake here,, what can i do to keep them viable for long periods of time??
 
Gquebed

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
Its all about the genetics and the maturity of the seed at harvest...

I grew out some seed that was 25+ years old and went 12 for 15 on germ.

Started some 2 year old seeds this last grow and went 8 for 15... and week plants...

You never know.
 
Voidling

Voidling

Well-Known Member
Gquebed said:
Its all about the genetics and the maturity of the seed at harvest...

I grew out some seed that was 25+ years old and went 12 for 15 on germ.

Started some 2 year old seeds this last grow and went 8 for 15... and week plants...

You never know.
Click to expand...
What's your method of seed starting?
Every time I start to grow again I forget how I did it the previous time
 
New Age United

New Age United

Well-Known Member
VILEPLUME said:
How long would you say seeds are good for when kept in the fridge?

I've been using some now that are 3-4 years old and the young plants look weak. I've been using the same bottles of nutrients for 4 years now too(don't grow that often), could that also play a factor?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
TheChemist77 said:
i keep hundreds of seeds in the fridge, all in sealed air tight packs with silica for humidity control.. most seeds are between 3 years old to just recently purchased,, i was told storing seeds this way will keep germ rates high for 5 years then slowly decline..however id like to know more as ive had germ problems as of late and i cant figure out why..

so please,,how long will seeds stay viable in the fridge?? why am i having low germ rates in just 3 years after doing all i can to package seeds correctly and store in fridge?? i have thousands of dollars of seeds at stake here,, what can i do to keep them viable for long periods of time??
Click to expand...
I bred a couple hundred ripe seeds of Jumbo Grizzly, Vancouver Seeds and the year after I got 90% germination and two years later I had to "try" and hatch 15 seeds for every strong female. Kept in the fridge in airtight capsules inside a Mason jar.
 
BM9AGS

BM9AGS

Well-Known Member
Gquebed said:
Its all about the genetics and the maturity of the seed at harvest...

I grew out some seed that was 25+ years old and went 12 for 15 on germ.

Started some 2 year old seeds this last grow and went 8 for 15... and week plants...

You never know.
Click to expand...
Wow!!
How were the 25 year old seeds stored? A seed is a seed so really as long as they don't dry to a crisp that would last....but 25 years that's amazing.
 
BM9AGS

BM9AGS

Well-Known Member
Yeah. So that's great. We're going to now be reaping what they sow 2000 years ago..... It'll be like Iraq. Donkey fucking everywhere.
 
TheChemist77

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
so as long as i keep the seeds in airtight bags with a silica in fridge they should stay good for years hu? what if the fridge went out a few times over a few years will that effect germ rates? im talking electric outages maybe a day or 2 over a year? but say 5 years thats 5 days at room temp,, is it still better in fridge or just stored at cool temps in a closet or somthing.. whats the big difference seeds stored in the fridge vs freezer vs room temp??
 
TheChemist77

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
should i take the silica out of packages? silica absorbs moisture and you dont want the seeds to dry out correct? so what is the benifit to silica in the package? please help...
 
Gquebed

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
BM9AGS said:
Wow!!
How were the 25 year old seeds stored? A seed is a seed so really as long as they don't dry to a crisp that would last....but 25 years that's amazing.
Click to expand...
That was the thing...a bunch in a baggie found in a shoe box in the basement.... hahahahahah figure what the hell and gave em a shot. Best part was that it was excellent smoke. Wish I knew what strain. The buds were really light green... think we called it Hawian back in the day, but it was more likely some type of BC hydro
 
Moldy

Moldy

Well-Known Member
I read where storage of seeds should be in less than 5% RH @ 50 F. Just my 2 cents. I've popped 8 year old seeds before but they took 5 days to sprout out of soil and didn't do the paper towel thingy. Those seeds were just stored in 50F with nothing to suck up moisture but I live in a dry climate where normal RH is 20%. It helps to germinate in the summer too so you don't have to add artificial heat. (germinated in my garage @ 90F +/- 5F).
 
turbobuzz

turbobuzz

Well-Known Member
I can grow some nice plants, but I have a hell of a time with germination. I just tried about 16 hoping to get 6 and didn't get a damn one. First time I ever struck out, so I'm at a loss as to what I'm doing wrong. I tried paper towel and straight in dirt. Maybe my seeds died. Their only a couple years old.
 
B

Bacala

Well-Known Member
TheChemist77 said:
should i take the silica out of packages? silica absorbs moisture and you dont want the seeds to dry out correct? so what is the benifit to silica in the package? please help...
Click to expand...
No, definitely leave it in. I store many kinds of seeds in a plastic container in the fridge with a couple silica packs and it works very well. No problem with seeds several years old.
 
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